Owners want Crooked pub to be built in different site
THE owners of Britain’s wonkiest pub, The Crooked House, say it should be rebuilt in a new location.
The historic Himley pub, near Dudley, was demolished two days after being ravaged by a suspected arson attack last August.
In response to its unlawful demolition, South Staffordshire Council demanded owner ATE Farms returned the iconic pub to its pre-fire condition in February.
The owners have contested the notice and a planning inspector will rule on the appeal in July.
Now, a document submitted on behalf of the owners has disclosed their plan to rebuild the pub on other land under their ownership, coupled with further developments intended to “increase footfall”.
The document said: “The appellant has not refused to rebuild the building and has actively engaged with the council regarding this.
“Requiring a rebuild in the same location, whilst reflective of popular opinion, will not change the fact that the building in that location is not viable as a public house.
“For this reason, the appellant has put forward a sustainable, and what it sees as a genuine and practical solution to the issue, to the council that it rebuild the building on other land that it owns, to operate as a public house, with other development to increase footfall and give the pub and the building a real chance of success as a community asset.
“The proposal locates a newly constructed Crooked House pub along with appropriate parking and landscaping further north off Crooked House Lane and as near to the highway junction with the Himley Road as would allow.”
The document also shed light on why the owners claimed the former pub had to be entirely demolished, despite council officers authorising only three elements of the building’s removal for safety purposes.
It said unexpected issues arose after council officials left the site: “Removal of the upper sections of the building took with it the steel tie-ins which rendered the remaining structure, in the contractors’ opinion, completely unsafe and at a high and unacceptable risk of collapse.”
Staffordshire Police, which is treating the blaze at the Crooked House as arson, has made six arrests in connection with the incident.